Pale Demons
by katsievamp
Summary: One-shot collection of Hakuouki pairings. I think it will be mainly Chizuru and Hijikata, but their might be other pairings, whether friend-like or more. :D


**Disclaimer:** _I own nothing except the plot and any original ideas put into the world. Otherwise it belongs to its rightful owner(s)._

* * *

I held my head, screaming unintelligible words. My heart was pounding too fast, my throat was too dry, everything was all too loud, and it wasn't only my voice. In the cool night, I couldn't hold onto anything I knew. I was pushed to each side of what seemed real and what seemed unnatural.

Falling to my knees, I stopped screaming, but I couldn't see what was in front of me. My mind blurred, bringing me back to something I couldn't remember, something I couldn't place. A distant memory?

Fire blazed, voices shrieked, and I couldn't see straight. Someone grabbed me and a young boy, carrying us away. Finally I could see above the smoke. A village was burning.

The man carrying us spoke up, "Just because we didn't do as they asked and the humans come to kill us!"

Was...this my home? I watched as everything burned to nothing, ashes beginning already to litter the ground, the grass dying, mighty trees falling. The smoke flew into the sky and I felt a deep rage, one that had definitely been buried for years.

My eyes focused, I saw the ground around me. The familiar dirt looked so welcoming, yet I couldn't shake this anger, this hate, for... Humans. The Shinsengumi captains surround me. I felt Harada kneel, I could feel the heat of his hand coming to my shoulder and I swatted it away. I heard him gasp, I could feel everyone's gazes upon me, hot with fury. I wasn't allowed to choose who comforted me and when?

Standing, I looked up, Hijikata right in front of me. Instead of his gaze being disciplinary, he started to shift from anger to worry. And, for some reason, that made me angrier.

Turning, I bolted. I ran straight for the forest. Kazama, Amagiri and Shiranui had already left. I wasn't going to wait around and see anything. I didn't want to have anything to do with humans. Not now, not ever.

I continued to run, my body increasing in power as I kept going. Then I suddenly stopped. Almost as if a candle was blown out of my mind, changing my entire thought, my entire self. I was running away. But, why should I? The Shinsengumi had kept me despite it being possibly dangerous. They always protected them. And, what did I do? I ran, I left them, swatting away their worry for me.

With new realization, I knew I was somehow a part of the Shinsengumi, whether they believed it or not. I may be wrong, but I wanted to believe this. Why would they care if I was hurt if I wasn't a part of Shinsengumi in some, not matter how small, way?

Turning around again, I began running, the same power I had before turning toward returning. The forest surrounding the castle was enormous, but I didn't feel lost. I retraced my straight running path, easily getting back.

At the edge of the forest, that candle lit again. I grabbed my head, the flashes of my burning village, of my people – Oni – dying, all because we didn't want to help some humans with their petty goals. I tried to force everything away, remembering what the Shinsengumi had done for me. But they also threatened to kill me, forced me to be uncomfortable, to be stuck in my room forever.

My heart and mind were tearing in two different directions. Then, I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to find Harada there, Hijikata taking hold of my elbows, trying to steady me. Then, I couldn't help it. I began to cry, tears streaming down my face, my frustration with myself, my anger with the memory, my sadness with myself, and my desperate want to have everything be like it was before those three Oni told me I wasn't a human, like I had been raised to think. Back to when everything made more sense.

I began to crumble and Hijikata bent down, ordering his men to protect the castle. I leaned against his shoulder, grabbing his hakamashita in my fists, balling my fists as my mind and heart fought over what was right and wrong, while my emotions bubbled and crashed all at once.

"Whatever is wrong, Chizuru, fight this." I heard Hijikata whisper, his breath hot on my ear.

Then, suddenly, I felt a cord somewhere in me snap. Everything settled. I felt both, but not anger towards every human. Only those that hurt us, the ones that had been power hungry. The Shinsengumi, so many others, took care of me and others. They protected. I might be an Oni, but the Shinsengumi was still here. Hijikata didn't let me go.

I felt a tinge of curiosity over that last thought, but I left it alone for now. All I did was let myself relax in Hijikata's arms, some tears still streaming down my face. He leaned against a tree, my head upon his chest. Stroking my hair, I could feel his hear beating faster, I could almost feel the worry in every muscle of his body. I didn't listen to my thoughts anymore. I just let myself relax with him, and he we stayed like that for most of the night.


End file.
